


A Soft Putter of Love

by deliciously_devient



Series: The Stars Gleam Bright in Your Eyes [3]
Category: The Avengers
Genre: BDSM, BDSM Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-24 01:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2563997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deliciously_devient/pseuds/deliciously_devient
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor has some news; Tony has the urge to nest. Everyone is sort of amused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was four in the morning, and everyone else was sleeping; there had been a battle today, with what Clint and Natasha had affectionately called the “burning bushfuck”, a man who could set things on fire and had screamed about God speaking to him and giving him the task of cleansing the world with fire. It hadn't been particularly straining, but the man had held a bus full of innocent people hostage for over four hours, until Clint had managed to get a tranq arrow into him.

 

Tony had been restless since everyone else had left the common room, not wanting to seek refuge in his workshop, not wanting to sit and watch a movie, and so it was four in the morning and everyone else in the Tower was sleeping soundly, and Tony was sprawled out in the middle of the living room floor with the coffee machine and the toaster strewn apart as he fiddled with them. His fingers were quick and nimble as they flew over circuits and wires, dissembling and repairing, remaking as he saw fit.

 

“I am sure that is not the intended use for these machines, Man of Iron,” came the deep, sonorous voice of Thor. He was dressed casually, in his Earth clothes, and there was a fond smile on his lips. Tony grinned and leaped up, excitement shooting through his chest.

 

“Thor!” he exclaimed, giving the taller man a hug. Thor seemed slightly shocked, and Tony realized that the god had been gone too long to have noticed his gradual opening up, physically, with the rest of the team. He seemed to take it in stride, however, and returned Tony's hug with just as much enthusiasm.

 

“We missed you, buddy,” Tony said, grinning and pulling away from the blonde.

 

“And I you,” Thor said, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “I wish I were returning with better news than I am.”

 

At this, Tony's expression dropped and went serious, his full attention on the man before him. “What's the problem?”

 

Thor sighed deeply, and Tony noticed how deeply the corners of his eyes were lined, how tired he seemed. “It is a matter that would be best discussed over food. Let us make ourselves more comfortable, yes?”

 

“Sure,” Tony said cautiously, and he made his way into the kitchen, heating an obscene amount of poptarts and some sandwiches for them both. When he returned, Thor had changed into his favorite pair of pajamas, a baggy t shirt with pants that had small designs of Mjolnir on them. His eyes lit up at the sight of poptarts, and he took one and bit into it, a look of reverence crossing his features as he chewed.

 

The god took his favorite spot on the sofa, and Tony sat next to him, unashamedly snuggling into his side. For a long time, being smaller than the other Avengers had irritated him, but he had since gotten over it, since it meant he was the perfect size for cuddling. Thor again seemed shocked at Tony's overt display of affection -from what he understood of Midgardian culture, though, it meant Tony held him in high esteem- but he went with it, wrapping one large arm around the billionaire's shoulders.

 

He was silent for a long moment, but Tony didn't mind, feeling at ease for the first time in...a while, actually. He realized, with a start, that the reason he'd felt on edge is because Thor had been gone for too long. Tony, as the only sub in their small Pride, felt the absence of each member more acutely than the others, and he shoved his face into Thor's side, inhaling his scent and letting the knowledge that all of his Pride was together again gladden his heart.

 

“It brings me joy to see you so comfortable with me, Man of Iron,” Thor rumbled, petting Tony's hair gently. The billionaire gave a soft purr at that, and Thor smiled widely.

 

“I'm glad I can trust you all, now,” he murmured, and Thor nodded seriously, his expression tightening. He was silent for a few more moments, gathering his thoughts, and he sighed deeply.

 

“There is no easy way to break this news,” he said at length, and he leaned his cheek on the top of Tony's head, seeking a bit of comfort. Though he had no actual presentation, he picked up on and exhibited the same habits the other Avengers had showed him. “You recall the color of Loki's eyes, when you last saw him?”

 

Tony frowned at this, his brow scrunching up slightly. “Yeah. Blue, like yours,” he said slowly, wondering where Thor was going with this.

 

“You'll recall, then, what color our Hawk's eyes were when he was under Loki's thrall?” Thor continued, and Tony's mind, always three steps ahead of everyone else, jumped the necessary steps.

 

“Are you trying to say that Loki was doing someone else's dirty work?” Tony asked, slight disbelief coloring his voice. Thor heaved a sigh, and nodded slowly.

 

“Aye. It was something that didn't come to light until he managed to break the hold of the one who had entrapped him. I had wondered, when he was attacking, why he chose to do so in such a manner; my brother is one who would much rather obtain power by making those around him believe him a rescuer, than to take what was never freely offered to him,” Thor said softly, his eyes distant, sad.

 

Thor was again silent for a moment, gazing into the distance, and Tony didn't say anything, letting him gather his thoughts for something that was obviously hitting very close to home. “He was tortured, for at least two of your Earth years; mayhaps longer, in the place that he was kept in the Void. That they managed to break him before he embraced death is a miracle in itself. He was almost lost when he broke from the thrall he was under; the force of it blew half a prison block, and he has been resting for the past month, regaining strength in the healing chamber.”  
  
Thor grabbed a sandwich from the table, and began to munch it; his eyes looked wet, and Tony couldn't begrudge the god his comfort eating; it wasn't like he was going to put on any weight, anyway.

 

“Three days ago, he told his story to our mother, Frigga; she ascertained the truth of the matter and begged Odin to remove his sentence,” Thor murmured softly, stuffing a second sandwich into his mouth. “However, Odin does not believe that Loki was completely innocent in his acts. And, in previous experiences, humiliating my brother has been the most effective way to ensure he will never do something again.”

 

Tony sat up a bit, so he could knead his fingers into Thor's hair; the distress in his scent lessened slightly, but didn't entirely fade. Tony purred softly, and allowed Thor to nestle into his warmth. He was a bit distressed himself to see Thor so upset, shoulders hunched and guarded.

 

“My father has decided that the best way to humiliate Loki is to strip him of his powers and send him to live among those that defeated him for one year,” Thor finished, and Tony very deliberately did not tense, continuing to pet Thor's hair gently.

 

“Your dad couldn't be convinced otherwise?” Tony asked after a moment, strangely calm about this whole thing.

 

Thor's voice was bitter when he spoke, venom dripping from the words. “The Allfather could not be convinced of any other path that was not of his own creation.”

 

“Okay,” Tony said simply. “Clint's not gonna like it, but I don't see any way around this. You're gonna have to keep a close eye on him though.”

 

Thor's shoulders slumped in relief, and he buried his face in Tony's chest, and the sub petted his back gently, purring very softly. They stayed like that, for a long while, so long, in fact, that Steve wandered in. Tony caught a flash of jealousy run across the good Captain's face before he schooled his features, and he hid a smile in Thor's hair.

 

“Steve, just who we wanted to see!” Tony said with a grin, and Steve's face lit up a bit; Tony's heart did an odd _tha-thump_ in his chest, but he ignored it. “Thor's got something he wants to tell you.”

**

 

Loki stood before them, in soft Asgardian robes, and the first thing Clint noticed was his eyes; they were a bright, brilliant green, like the color of a newly grown leaf, and it was an incredible change from the icy blue he had known when Loki had dumped his self out and replaced it with what he wanted in there.

 

The god was tense, looking at the assembled Avengers with barely concealed fear in his green, green eyes. He looked as though he was expecting to be hit at any moment, and Clint wondered what Asgardian jails were like.

 

But then, it hit him, just like that, a punch to his solar plexus as he inhaled. He took stumbling steps towards Loki, his eyes wide with surprise, and the god looked as though he was about to soil himself; he heard the others shouting at him, but they weren't quick enough to stop him, weren't quick enough to stop  _this,_ this swirling, dangerous, exhilarating thing that sparked when he touched Loki's cheek.

 

Those green, green eyes stared at him, shock washing through him from Loki, his own awe and wonder pulsing back at him through their newly established bond. Scent bonds were rare, but not unheard of; they only happened when two people who were a genetically perfect match smelled one another, and before, when they met, Loki's scent was jumbled with dirt and death and hatred; now, it was pure, like spring rain and ice and wind.

 

“Well,” Tony said, and his voice seemed to be warm with amusement. “That was probably the plot twist of the year.”

 

“W...what happened?” Loki asked, and even his voice was different now, softer, filled with fear. Clint wanted to take him away from the others, hole him up in one of his nests and take him down and feed him and make sure he was safe and cherished and no one ever laid a hand on him again.

 

“You two scent bonded,” Steve said, and his voice was filled with awe and envy, and Clint turned his sharp eyes on the super soldier because Loki was _his,_ he already _had_ Tony, but Steve was glancing at the billionaire and Clint let his shoulders relaxed. He'd never felt this possessive in his life, and he supposed that must mean Loki was a full sub, his dominant side coming to life in a way it hadn't before.

 

“It's very rare,” Bruce said, and his voice was all scientific interest, approaching them slightly, but keeping his distance when Clint growled warningly. He sniff the air a few times, his brow wrinkled in that special way that meant he was thinking very hard about something. “The last recorded scent bonding was four years ago, between a Norwegian couple. It happens when two people are perfectly genetically matched, and only ever between heterosexual couples. It's a very old way of ensuring healthy offspring. Tell me, Loki, are your species hermaphroditic?”

 

There was a slight flush of embarrassment on Loki's cheeks, but he nodded sharply. “I believe the correct term would be intersexed. Each frost giant is both capable of bearing children and producing them.”

 

“Fascinating,” Bruce said, and he looked as though he really meant it. “If you decide to have any children, I would love to be your prenatal doctor.”

**

 

Having Loki living under his roof was a bit odd for Tony, but the scent bond between him and Clint seemed to smooth things out, at least a little. Loki was generally skittish around everyone; less so around their resident archer, but he still acted as though he expected to be bashed around by the Hulk.

 

Having another sub around, however, made Tony feel...better, somehow. He and the frost giant both kept odd hours, and he often ran into him in the middle of the night, nursing a steaming cup of tea, staring into it's depths with a haunted expression. On those nights, Tony said nothing, only retrieved his cup of coffee and sat beside Loki at the kitchen counter, fingers flying over his tablet as he revised something or other. Their shoulders would brush occasionally, and after a while, Loki stopped flinching when this happened.

 

One such night, Tony was on a five day bender -much to the disapproval of Steve, but the other man seemed reluctant to use his authority over Tony to coax him into bed- and his hair was wild and there was oil smudged on his cheeks, and he was just thinking that a good roll around in subspace would be what he needed to get to sleep finally, when Loki spoke to him.

 

“Starkson,” he said quietly, and Tony was again struck by how different his voice sounded, how much his demeanor was different from the madman who had ransacked New York. “I have heard many mentions of a thing called 'subspace.' There is no applicable translation in the Allspeak; what is this?”

 

Tony blinked at him a couple times, first processing that yes, Loki had actually spoken, and two, that he was asking this. He felt a sudden, sharp pang in his chest; Loki didn't even know what _subspace_ was.

 

“It's sort of...you've been drunk before, right?” Tony asked, and continued at Loki's nod. “Well. Subspace is sort of like being drunk, but for submissives, like you and me. We're...more vulnerable, like that, but it's an essential part of our biology; being in subspace releases necessary chemicals that keep us balanced and healthy. It's best if you spend it with someone you trust, usually a dom, or close friends.”

 

Loki considered this for a long moment, staring into his tea, and there was an expression on his face that Tony had a difficult time parsing.

 

“I have never experienced this,” he said softly, and he looked up at Tony and his eyes were filled with fear and trepidation and just an edge of self loathing; Tony knew how to spot that a mile away. “How...how does one achieve this?”

 

Tony thought on his answer for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “It varies, person to person. Some subs only need to be told to drop, and it's that easy for them; me, personally, I have to be put in a lot of pain by someone I trust. It's the only way I can get there.”

 

Loki swallowed hard, and the fear in his eyes intensified a little. “And if I can't reach this state by either of those means?” he asked, and Tony hate, _hated_ the fear he saw there.

 

“Hey, everyone is different,” he said, and he put a gentle hand on the trickster's shoulder. “There are tons of ways to get to subspace; you just have to find what works for you, and I know Clint will be gentle with you. Most subs, by the time they reach their teens, they already know what they like and don't like, because we were raised in a way that taught us what our bodies needed and had time to experiment; you just need to take that time to do it for yourself.”

 

The tension in Loki's shoulders seemed to drop, and he smiled at Tony, a small, fleeting thing, but still a smile.

 

“Thank you,” he murmured, and then he took the remainder of his tea, and downed it in one. “I think I shall seek out Barton.”

 

And with that, he was gone.

 

Tony blinked after him, and rubbed at his eyes; they burned with lack of sleep and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and make his mind be quiet...

 

**

 

Steve hadn't always been a light sleeper; the war had trained that into him, and so when he heard light footsteps at his bedroom door, his eyes flew open and his fingers inched toward the gun under his headboard.   
  
“Tony?” he asked, voice rough with sleep, and the genius shuffled his feet, ducking his head slightly.

 

“I, uh. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,” he said, and looked as if he was going to flee.

 

“You know you're always welcome,” Steve said softly, a smile on his face. “What do you need, baby?”

 

Even though the room was dark, Steve's eyes were sharp enough to catch the blush that tinged Tony's cheeks, and it put a warmth in his chest, to know that he had done that.

 

“Um, well I was...I was wondering if I could, you know, sleep with you,” he said in a rush, and the red on his cheeks grew deeper. “I mean, to just sleep.”

 

Steve felt his smile widen, and he scooted over to the other side of his bed, patting the warm spot left in his wake. “Of course, darling,” he said lowly, and Tony shuffled over to the bed, hesitantly crawling under the covers, facing Steve. His hair was wet, and he smelled freshly showered, and Steve couldn't resist the urge to pull him close, a deep, content purr rumbling in his chest.

 

Tony was tense at first, but he pushed his face into Steve's bare chest, relaxing slowly, and he was asleep in minutes. Steve felt the warmth in his chest grow, suffusing his body and making him feel more at home than he had since he'd woken up in the ice. He buried his nose in Tony's hair, inhaling his scent, and letting the overwhelming feeling of  _safe,_ and  _home_ envelope him. He fell asleep with the feeling of Tony's heartbeat against his.

 

He woke with Tony curled against his side and he smiled, gently kissing him awake. Tony murmured sleepily, and snuggled closer into Steve's chest, grumbling softly and refusing to move. Steve laughed, and he settled again, content to watch Tony sleep for as long as he wanted.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long update people. The next part is going to be mostly porn (lots of it actually, I'm thinking like five chapters of it whew) so you can skip it if you want. I'll tag everything so you know beforehand what's going to be in each chapter so you know what's where and can skip things you don't like. Thanks for bearing with me guys.
> 
> Also, if anyone want a little Clint/Loki action in this series (it was really just a selfish manip for my own amusement) shoot me a comment and I'll do a lil something for ya.

Waking up in Tony's arms awakened something in Steve that he wasn't ready to give a label, but he knew that waking up any other way from now on wouldn't be as fulfilling. So, after his morning run, he began to think about what he was going to say to Tony about making their relationship a little more exclusive.

Courting, while generally meaning that the intent was to be a couple, wasn't a strong claim over someone, and Steve wanted more. He wanted to wake up to Tony's smile, go to sleep with him wrapped tightly in his arms, wanted everything that being in a relationship meant. He wanted a family, and he wanted it with Tony.

“Hey,” Steve greeted as he walked into Tony's workshop around lunch time, dressed casually; Tony hadn't made it out of his pajamas, and his hair was sticking up as he manipulated a hologram, tongue between his teeth. He got a grunt in response, and it made a smile spread across his face, because as much as Tony tried to fool the public otherwise, he was an adorable dork.

He touched the sub's shoulder gently, unashamedly demanding his attention for himself, and kissing him lightly. “Hungry?” he asked, brandishing the bag of burgers he'd brought, from Tony's favorite place. Steve felt his heart skip a beat at the way his eyes lit up and he made grabby hands at the bag.

“Oh my God, you are an angel,” Tony said as he grabbed a burger and a handful of fries, shoving them into his mouth. Steve grinned, feeling that warmth he didn't want to name spread through his chest, and he picked up a burger for himself, eating in silence as Tony munched happily.

“Hey, uh,” Steve said, once Tony was mostly done demolishing his burger. “I, um. I wanted to talk about something...serious.”

He immediately regretted his word choice, however, when Tony's eyes went shuttered and his expression closed off. He could see the tensing of the muscles, could see the way his shoulders hunched slightly, as if expecting a blow, bracing himself. He felt his throat tighten, and he cursed everyone who had ever hurt Tony like this, that he only ever expected bad things from those who were close to him.

“Shoot, Capcicle,” Tony said, plastering his press smile onto his face, and Steve barely kept himself from wincing. He hadn't been called that by Tony in months, and hearing the nick name stung, just a little. Tony didn't trust him. 

Well, the only way to change that was to show him, he thought grimly.

“I've been thinking,” he started, softly, and looked directly into those dark brown orbs, wondering exactly was was going on behind them. “Well, I've been courting you for about two months and...I want you. I want this, us, to be...permanent. So I was...I was wondering, if you wanted it, I could....I could give you my collar,” he finished, swallowing, shoulders squared as he looked at Tony.

The billionaire in question opened and closed his mouth a few times, blinking as though he had just emerged from a dark room into the light. The look of shock on Tony's face was enough to make Steve want to wrap him up tightly and pull him close, protect him from the dangers of the world. Tony gave his head a slight shake, as if to clear it, and his eyebrows drew together, and there was faint, sharp hope in his beautiful brown eyes.

“You...you mean that?” he asked when he recovered his voice, and it was shaky, hesitant, an it broke Steve's heart all over again.

“Yeah,” Steve said, and he couldn't resist the pull to touch Tony any longer, gently cupping his cheek and leaning their foreheads together. “Yeah, I mean that. I want you to be mine.”

Tony didn't say anything for a long time, just stared into Steve's eyes like he was searching for something, expression so, so hopeful and so fearful all at once. Steve wanted to kiss the lines of worry off the subs face, but he let it be for now; Tony had to come into this willingly, with his eyes open, without Steve or anyone else coercing him.

“I...I'd like that,” Tony said, and Steve held his breath because it felt like there was an addendum coming. “But I...we've only ever kissed and Steve I...I need some, some things you might not be comfortable giving me.”

“Tony,” Steve said, and it was an expletive, a plea and a prayer all in one. “Tony, whatever you need, I will give it to you. You know that.”

Tony's expression became pained, and he pulled away from Steve, wrapping his arms around his torso. “I know, and that's the problem. I don't want you to give me what I need because it's what I need; I want you to want it, and if you don't like what I like...I don't want to do that to you.”

Steve clenched his jaw, and suddenly, he was incredibly, fiercely determined. “Then it sounds like we need to have a very in depth conversation about likes and dislikes,” Steve said, jaw set. “Because I'm not going to let you not give us a try just because you think I don't like what you like. There's a lot you don't know about me, and I know I'm from a different age, but subs and doms weren't so different back then, you know.”

Tony looked up at him, and his expression was so fragile, so painfully hopeful, that Steve couldn't keep himself from wrapping him up in a hug. “We'll figure this out, Tony,” Steve murmured, pressing a kiss into his hair.  
**

Tony was terrified.

He'd requested a day to gather his thoughts, and he made an extensive list of everything he liked and didn't like, requiring Steve did the same. His list wasn't very extensive, but it was on the extreme of the pain spectrum, and he was sure that while Steve would be fun to date casually...taking his collar was another matter entirely. That meant being totally devoted to Steve, and if Steve wasn't comfortable with his kinks well...it wouldn't work. Steve wouldn't be willing.

He felt shivery and he had to make sure to breathe carefully so that he wouldn't hyperventilate. He was supposed to be meeting with Steve in ten minutes, in the library where they wouldn't be disturbed, a nice, neutral place that was neither Tony's nor Steve's. He had arrive early, sitting at one of the tables between shelves, drumming his hand against the wood, his other covering the paper list of his kinks.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Steve appeared, sitting across from him with his own paper list, jaw set and eyes gleaming with determination. Tony's heart skipped a beat, and the longing in his chest was so intense it was almost painful, and he wanted nothing more than to sink to his knees and beg Steve for his collar but...but he wasn't good enough. He didn't deserve someone like Steve.

“Hey,” Tony said weakly, not meeting Steve's eyes, shifting nervously.

“Hey,” Steve said, and there was something to his voice, something Tony had never really heard before. He opened his mouth to begin speaking, but Steve held up a hand, and his mouth snapped shut with a click, curiosity burning through him.

“I'm going to speak first, and you are going to listen,” Steve said softly, seriously, and if he had said it any other way at all, Tony would have argued, made a flippant comment, but he had never heard this tone in Steve's voice before, and he was curious.

“Outside of the bedroom, I don't want to control you; I don't want to own you, because you're your own person, and the thought of owning another person is disgusting to me. I'm not gonna make you wear things you don't want to wear, or make you wear a leash in public or any of that nonsense, because you belong to you,” Steve said slowly, and with each word, Tony felt his stomach dropping, because a dom that let their sub have that much freedom wasn't the sort of dom who would want to give Tony what he needed...

“But,” Steve continued, and there was something dark in his voice, something that sent a tingle up Tony's sub. “But. When we're behind closed doors, when we're...intimate. You belong to me. When we're like that, just us, you are my property, and you will do as I say when I say it, and I will use you as I see fit.”

Tony swallowed hard, and his cock jumped in his pants because, of all the things he had thought he'd hear today, that was not what he was expecting. Steve then passed his list over to Tony, and the sub took it from him with numb fingers, looking down at it with what he knew was a slack expression of shock.

The things on this list...most of them, Tony had never even tried, and some of them he'd never heard of before. One thing was for sure, though; Steve was fucking perfect in every way.

“Figging?” Tony asked quietly, glancing at Steve, who, upon further inspection, looked..nervous.  
“It's the placement of a skinned piece of ginger into the anus,” Steve said succinctly. “It's usually accompanied by a spanking, and is very painful for the recipient.”

Tony swallowed hard, and continued to look over the list. Orgasm control, whipping, tying, plugging, sound docking....these were all things he liked, and the list was almost double his own. He blinked a few times when he got to the very last thing on the list, arching an eyebrow as he looked up at Steve.  
“Daddy play?” he asked, a bit of shock creeping into his voice. Steve shrugged.

“It's not something that's a deal breaker, but I do like it. Not in the sexual sense, I just like taking care of someone like that. It's a...stress relief, of a sort,” he said. Tony nodded shortly, and then swallowed, pushing his own list at Steve.

Steve looked over it without changing his expression, and when he looked back at Tony, there was relief in his expressive eyes.

“So,” the blond said, grinning. “I don't see anything here that I can't give you.”

“Yeah,” Tony said, a little breathlessly, hardly willing to believe what was happening. “I suppose we're...compatible.”

Steve reached out, cupping Tony's cheek gently, and his eyes were dark and intense. “Tony,” he said softly, brushing his thumb over the sub's cheekbone. “Will you wear my collar?”

Tony swallowed hard, thinking of all the reasons he didn't deserve someone like Steve, all the reasons that it was a bad idea because he was just gonna fuck this up. “Yeah,” he said shakily. “Yeah, I'd love to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Loki's characterization is a little off, I know, but I need it for purposes.


End file.
